[C'mon_Lley]

This thread is for posting all the Lleyton articles that are not related to tournies he's playing. We'll start a new articles thread for every tourney he plays. This way it'll be easy to access articles

Sporting Life
March 5 2003
By Geoff McClure

C'mon, buy this

If it was good enough for the likes of Greg Norman and Shane Warne, why not Lleyton Hewitt as well. Yep, in news from Adelaide yesterday, the world's No.1 tennis player has agreed to have his name put on a new premium wine label.

All of which will come as a surprise to those who know our Lleyton as more of a cola drinker than a wine swiller, but it is a reputation that will change in a hurry if winemaker O'Leary Walker Wines get its way.

In all, only 500 cases (6000 bottles) of 2002 Adelaide Hills chardonnay and 2001 Clare Valley-Adelaide Hills cabernet-merlot will be made, the bottles bearing a small Hewitt signature and an "H" in the shape of a tennis court.

Alas, don't expect to spot too many of the Hewitt vintage in your local bottleshop, because, according to O'Leary Walker, most of the product will be destined for the American market.

Hewitt has been overseas during the bottling process, leaving most of the commercial dealings to his parents, Glynn and Cherilyn, who have wine interests in South Australia. According to Lleyton's father, the intention was to build the Hewitt wine as a quality product and for that reason the label is deliberately not ostentatious. The wine is expected to retail for about $30 in Australia and $US25 overseas.



I'm so gonna buy this!

 

[C'mon_Lley]

Terror ads make biggest impact
Maria Ligerakis

THE FEDERAL Government’s recent anti-terror campaign was a winner in terms of consumer recall, according to the latest Magnum Quarterly Awareness (MQAS) Survey.

The survey (commissioned by Melbourne agency Magnum Opus and involving more than 1200 respondents Australia-wide) found the anti-terror campaign topped the list of most recalled ads, followed by the Sorbent ad starring tennis star Lleyton Hewitt and an ad for chicken feed.

Magnum Opus director of creative strategy Steve Yolland said the anti-terror campaign outperformed other State and Federal Government campaigns in the road safety, illicit drugs, gaming and sexual health arena. “The ad has much higher recall because it is so topical,” Yolland said.

Humorous ads also rated well with Toyota’s “Bugger” campaign once again making the list.

“They [humorous ads] become like welcome friends, dropping in to our households for a chat.

The long-term positive effect on a brand of achieving that ongoing level of affection can hardly be underestimated.”

Top Ten Most Recalled

1. Terrorism—Federal Government

2. Hewitt Toilet Paper—Sorbent

3. Chicken Feed—Chicken Feed Shops

4. Falling Bird—Yogo

5. Adult Children—Vegemite

6. Head through the fence—Vanilla Coke

7. Imaginative Kids—HBA

8. Lotto-Lucky Duck—Scratch ‘n’ Win

9. You know you want it—Coca-Cola

10. Bugger—Toyota

28 February 2003

 

[duck]

LL is a GQ Man of the Year. Lucky him!

Delta steals men's show
By Anthony Stavrinos
05mar03
SOME of Australia's most talented men were recognised at a glitzy Sydney function by a fashion magazine reader poll, but it was a tall young woman that stole the show.

Neighbours television star turned songbird, Delta Goodrem, performed two of her singles, impressing a healthy turnout of Sydney social types at the swanky, inner-city Exchange Square.

Earlier more than 200 guests were told this year's men of the year, according to GQ magazine.

Heath Ledger, 23, the star of a string of Hollywood successes including The Patriot, A Knight's Tale and Monster's Ball, took out the actor category.

In a recorded message from the US where he is on filming commitments, Ledger said he was sorry he could not be in Australia to accept the award in person but was looking forward to coming home to promote the blockbuster Ned Kelly, in which he stars.









Entertaining guests tonight after claiming the comedy category, were Sydney's Nova 96.9 radio duo Merrick (Merrick Watts) and Rosso (Tim Ross).

Other winners at tonight's awards were: Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns (performing artist); Lleyton Hewitt (sportsman); Peter Morrissey (fashion designer); Tropfest founder John Polson (entrepreneur); Salt restaurant owner Luke Mangan (chef); Jamie Durie (TV personality).

But guests appeared to be more impressed with Goodrem than the award fanfare.

Sony Music spokeswoman Jo Grogan said Goodrem, 18, was leaving for the UK on Thursday to promote her chart-topping single Born To Try, which had reached "triple platinum" sales status in Australia, with more than 200,000 copies sold.

She performed the song and her second single, Lost Without You, to a live piano accompaniment.

Like other former Ramsay Street residents including Kylie Minogue and Natalie Imbruglia, Goodrem is focusing her efforts on breaking into the soap-obsessed UK.

 

[duck]

The most boring article ever. Enough already. We know all this

ATP gives Hewitt ruling the silent treatment
March 5 2003
By Linda Pearce





A verdict has been reached, at last, on Lleyton Hewitt's appeal against the $200,000 fine levied by the men's governing body, the ATP, over his failure to fulfil an interview obligation in Cincinnati last August. Just don't ask what the judgement was. No one will say.

In the five-year history of the ATP Stars Program, which co-ordinates players' off-court promotional activities during tournaments, no previous procedure has been so secretive. Aside from the player and his advisers, details of the Hewitt decision have been restricted to a handful of the most senior tour executives.

Recently, and without fanfare, the following joint statement was released by the ATP and Hewitt: "An appeals committee has reached a decision regarding Lleyton Hewitt's ATP Stars Program appeal from the 2002 Cincinnati tournament. The matter is now concluded. The ATP and Hewitt do not plan to release any further information regarding this internal matter, consistent with past practices regarding Stars Program appeals."

Yet there is an inconsistency, and a glaring one. Not only have past appeal results been revealed to ATP staff, key officials have been permitted to sit in on appeals committee deliberations. But not this time. Guilty or not guilty? The original fine or a reduced penalty, as previously flagged by ATP chief executive Mark Miles? Who knows? Is the avoidance of legal action the motivation? Don't ask. No one will say.

But more certain is that the relationship between the tour and its leading light remains strained. After the original fine was announced following Hewitt's refusal to conduct an interview with host broadcaster ESPN, Hewitt accused the ATP of dishonesty and threatened to reduce his 2003 schedule, regardless of its possible impact on his ranking.


This week's Scottsdale tournament is his first since his Australian Open loss to Younes El Aynaoui. "There are times when you feel like (walking away) . . . it is a great sport if the ATP would just get out of the way," Hewitt said last year.

Miles countered that "the interview needed to get done . . . we need our players to be accessible to the public through the media. The tour has a set of expectations we expect to be met. The Stars Program rule that passed by the players' council was designed by the players because most players believe it is their responsibility to promote the sport."

There will be no promotion of the verdict in this high-profile case, with the ATP/Hewitt statement concluding: "With the committee's decision behind us, we look forward to focusing on the 2003 season."

Still, one potential Hewitt-related fine remains unresolved until next week in Lausanne, where the Davis Cup committee will consider referee Norbert Peick's report on the Australian's non-appearance at a news conference held before the first-round tie against Britain in Sydney last month.

Hewitt was excused from attending the Tuesday interview by captain John Fitzgerald, leaving Tennis Australia liable for a fine of up to $17,000. Under new International Tennis Federation rules introduced to encourage greater player promotion, each team must conduct one group news conference, in addition to the mandatory session for both squads held after the official draw. Australia's was attended by Fitzgerald, Mark Philippoussis, Wayne Arthurs and Todd Woodbridge.

When Hewitt did appear two days later, it was with the badge of Australia's team sponsor, Optus, conspicuously absent from his tracksuit, Hewitt having reached an out-of-court settlement late last year over the company's unauthorised use of his image in its advertising.

Optus spokeswoman Simone Bergholcs declined to comment on the matter when contacted by The Age. Optus is in the final year of its three-year sponsorship of Australia's senior and junior tennis teams, including the Davis and Fed Cup squads.

 

[C'mon_Lley]

LL is a GQ Man of the Year. Lucky him!

His life is complete! This is what he lives for.

The most boring article ever. Enough already. We know all this

No shit Linda Pearce doesn't have anything better to write. Isn't her fav. boy Flip playing this week? Go on and write glowing articles about him.

 

[KaseyL]

Think this belongs in here, from The Guardian.

Hewitt admits fitness problem

Richard Jago in Cincinnati
Thursday August 14, 2003, The Guardian

Lleyton Hewitt has suggested for the first time that there is something physically wrong with him after an alarming defeat by Xavier Malisse in the first round of the Masters Series here.

Hewitt, who until recently was the most feared player on the tour, had a point to go a set and 3-1 up before slipping to a 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 defeat to a talented opponent ranked No68 in the world.

The speed with which Hewitt has lost his aura of fleet-footed menace has brought gossip that all is not well with the former world No1, who has not won a title for five months.

Hewitt, 22, admitted he felt drained after falling at the first hurdle in Miami in March and expressed similar feelings after winning a Davis Cup rubber in Malmo in April.

After the Malisse debacle he said: "I just physically didn't feel great out there today." This dramatic admission suggests he is vulnerable and hints that the very quality which made him so special may be dragging him down.

"When I'm feeling physically 100%, then I feel like I can beat up on anyone out there on a given day. But I didn't feel great out there and that really hurt my whole game," Hewitt said. "It was my legs; they just didn't feel great. I haven't had anything. I don't think this is something you can say, 'this is wrong with you'."

Such uncertainty is causing speculation about other possible causes of the slump.

It has not helped that he split with his coach Jason Stoltenberg just before Wimbledon. Even more undermining may be the legal action that is pending between him and the ATP.

It was triggered here last year when Hewitt allegedly refused to do an on-court interview for TV network ESPN before a match and was fined $100,000 (£62,000), later reduced to $20,000.

"I haven't heard anything about the legal things pretty much all year," said Hewitt. But Hewitt's representatives, which include the management company Octagon, are said to be locked into a collision course with the governing body of the men's tour.

Hewitt denies he has a long-term problem. But he has recently started rationalising his schedule. "Hopefully what's happened isn't going to be a general thing," Hewitt said.

Whether it is may become clearer at the US Open. He has 10 days to get into shape.

 

[KaseyL]

More:

From Daily Telegraph

Lleyton loses killer instinct

By Paul Malone
14aug03

LLEYTON Hewitt will be hounded all the way through the US Open by a worldwide guessing game over his mystifying form slump.

Hewitt yesterday vowed his killer instinct would return in time for the August 25 start of the year's final grand slam tournament.

But Hewitt's first-round exit from the Tennis Masters in the Cincinnati event leaves him short of match practice.

The Australian, ranked sixth in the world, has now gone five months and eight tournaments since winning his last title in mid-March in Indian Wells, California and he said his legs lacked their usual drive in his 3-6 6-4 6-2 loss yesterday to Belgian Xavier Malisse.

Hewitt, the world's No. 1 player in 2001 and 2002, has won seven matches in five tournaments since coach Roger Rasheed was promoted from a position of conditioner after an unexpected split with coach Jason Stoltenberg in late May.

Hewitt is refusing to pinpoint the reasons for his fall from No. 1 and denied yesterday that factors included:

His legal battle with the ATP. He was fined 12 months ago for not doing a television interview in Cincinnati and he sued the men's tour organising body in the South Australian Supreme Court action a fortnight before his ill-fated Wimbledon defence.

The pressures of staying at No. 1 and winning more grand slam titles.

Having played only 12 tournaments in 2003, the fewest by any player in the Champions' Race top 40.

A respiratory virus which has been a recurrent problem over the past three years.

Keeping Adelaide as his base, rather than moving to the US, as most Australian players do.

Hewitt said he had been let down by the physical side of his game against Malisse, ranked No. 68, rather than the mental side. "I didn't feel great today. It was more my legs. I don't think there was something you can sort of put it down to," he said.

"That's just today. Hopefully that won't be a problem in a couple of weeks."

Australian Davis Cup coach Wally Masur said Hewitt would be ready in his attempt to win his second US Open, a tournament in which he has reached the last four for three successive years.

"He's run into a bit of a wall, but I have enough faith in Lleyton as a competitor and as a problem solver to think this is a blip, rather than a slump," Masur said.

"I don't know the reasons why. Is he tired from 3½ years of playing year round, with him being busy towards the end of each of those years?

"The courts in New York will suit him better. He can definitely win it."

 

[KaseyL]

More from Daily Telegraph:

Hewitt in freefall

By Robert Lusetich
14aug03

THE single-mindedness that made Lleyton Hewitt the world's best tennis player may have become his greatest threat.

In the same week that girlfriend Kim Clijsters reached the No.1 ranking in the women's game, Hewitt tumbled out of a US tournament in the first round, and appears to now be in freefall.

Hewitt, 22, continues to fight the ATP, the body that runs men's tennis, with the tenacity that once made him a feared opponent on court. And no matter how much he denies it, he is finding it impossible to wage war on two fronts.

Hewitt, without any big weapon, rose to world No1 because of a ruthless refusal to lose. But he turned in a flaccid, passionless performance against unseeded Belgian Xavier Malisse yesterday to crash out of the Cincinnati Masters Series.

It was his second successive early exit on the US hardcourt circuit.

Hewitt's ranking has been dropping since Wimbledon, where he crashed out in the first round. He went to Cincinnati ranked No5 and could now fall to No8 after his first-round demise.

"The last few weeks, it's been a little bit up and down," Hewitt said. "I just didn't feel great out there, I don't know why. It was my legs. I didn't feel 100 per cent."

Hewitt, who has held the No.1 ranking for the past two years, is embroiled in a legal battle with the ATP and has been caught up in coaching upheavals that appear to have taken their toll.

He won back-to-back tournaments in the US in March but that aside, his record has been bleak. Since making the final of the Los Angeles Open at the end of July, he has lost eight of 19 matches.

By comparison, last year he lost only 14 of 78 matches.

 

[duck]

Hewitt unfazed by rocky patch
August 14, 2003

Jason Stoltenberg backs his former charge to bounce back. Alex Brown reports.

Lleyton Hewitt remembers Rocky Balboa's upset victory over Russian giant Ivan Drago, knows the second-placed Adelaide Crows overcame an indifferent 7-5 start to the 2003 season.

For like his beloved Crows after round 12, Hewitt also owns a 7-5 win-loss record since splitting with former coach Jason Stoltenberg after the French Open.

And like Balboa, his favourite movie character, Hewitt has waged battles against larger, more powerful opponents in recent times, culminating in this week's opening-round 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 loss to unseeded Xavier Malisse in Cincinnati.

Now, barely a fortnight away from the US Open, the former world No.1 will require a Balboa-like form-reversal - and a critic-silencing Crows-style late season spurt - to overcome the big-serving giants of men's tennis.

Want to bet against him? Stoltenberg won't.

"Anyone else looking in might be getting more panicked than Lleyton would be right now," said Stoltenberg, who abruptly resigned as Hewitt's coach earlier this year. "Really, it only takes one good week to turn this whole thing around. It's just that everyone is so used to him winning all the time.

"It's so hard to focus out there every single day. And I'm sure Lleyton's not hitting the panic button. He knows he's good enough, we all know he's good enough. He's absolutely got the game to come out of this. He was on top for 18 months straight and it might have taken it out of him a little, but he's still probably got the best wheels out there.

"Obviously, people see Lleyton lose a few games and they tend to panic. But every champion goes through a patch now and then - if he goes out and wins the US Open now, everybody will be saying he had a good year."

Still, Hewitt's preparation for the US Open hit a critical snag on Tuesday, when the South Australian fell to Malisse - his second opening-round exit since Stoltenberg's June resignation.

In that time, Hewitt lost to Sebastien Grosjean (quarter-finals, Queens), Ivo Karlovic (first round, Wimbledon), Wayne Ferreira (final, Los Angeles), Max Mirnyi (second round, Montreal) and now Malisse.

He hasn't won a title since March (Indian Wells). He hasn't defeated a top-50 opponent since May (Nikolay Davydenko). He hasn't played with the all-court tenacity that propelled him to an over all 286-91 singles record, career prizemoney approaching $US12 million and his former mantle as the world's top player.

"I'd probably like to have more matches going into the open," Hewitt told reporters after his early exit at the Cincinnati Masters, joining fellow Australians Mark Philippoussis, Scott Draper and Wayne Arthurs as first-round losers at the event. "I didn't feel great out there. I don't know why . . . it was my legs. I wasn't 100 per cent. Hopefully I'll be able to get my game right for the open.

"But grand slams are different. If you can get through a few matches and the draw opens up and you get confident, then everyone knows [what can happen].

"Look at Pete Sampras last year, and even the two occasions I've won grand slams - I've gotten better as the tournament has gone on."

Neither Hewitt nor Stoltenberg have publicly divulged the true nature of their split - Stoltenberg still wary of commenting on the form of his one-time pupil, now coached by Roger Rasheed.

And despite reports suggesting that interference from Hewitt's father, Glynn, may have prompted his resignation, Stoltenberg wasn't buying into the controversy yesterday.

"We're not in touch that much," he said. "It's not that we don't get on, it's just Lleyton is away working hard. I'm enjoying a bit of a breather . . . I was on the road pretty much non-stop for 17 years. At the end of the year, I'll have a think about where I'm going.

"The standard of tennis is as good as it's ever been, and certainly the best that I've seen it. The ball is being hit so hard and the pace is amazing. There's no question that big serves and big, powerful players are the way the game is heading.

"But then you have a guy like Lleyton, who is also getting stronger all the time, who returns well and likes the pace and the ball coming onto his racquet. I think he'll be back."

Davis Cup coach Wally Masur supports Stoltenberg's theory.

"People ask me, 'What's happening to Lleyton, what's happening to Lleyton?' but what a lot of them don't realise is that one or two points can be the difference in any match," Masur told AAP. "When you're not quite where you want to be, it just doesn't seem to happen . . . we're not used to it from Lleyton, but he's a champion and he'll come good."

 

[duck]

Hewitt's court battle to hot up
By Penelope Debelle
Adelaide
August 15, 2003

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Troubled tennis ace Lleyton Hewitt will go to court for a bitter battle with the men's governing body, the Association of Tennis Professionals, only days after the final of the US Open.

While Hewitt, 22, this week continued his fall from grace by losing in the first round of the Cincinnati Masters, meaning his world ranking of No. 6 is likely to slide further, his $2.5 million legal action against the ATP has gained pace.

Documents filed in the South Australian Supreme Court by the ATP describe Hewitt's claim that he was defamed by the ATP as "in many respects embarrassing" and want itstruck out.

The ATP's response to Hewitt's legal attack has brought the role of Hewitt's father, Glynn Hewitt, into focus. Documents filed in Adelaide claim Glynn Hewitt threatened his son would deliver the ATP "the biggest sledging ever" if it forced him to do an interview with the American TV network ESPN before last year's Cincinnati Masters - in which Hewitt progressed through to the final.


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In the same tournament this week, Hewitt was defeated in the first round by an unseeded Belgian Xavier Malisse.

Glynn Hewitt, who with wife Cherilyn often accompanies Hewitt on the professional tennis circuit, was acting on Lleyton's behalf, the ATP alleged, when he told an ATP official last August that Lleyton would do the ESPN interview, "but only for five minutes and that (the ATP) should be prepared for the biggest sledging ever".

Hewitt, who did not do the interview demanded by the ATP as part of his official obligations, said in a post-match interview that the interview request was "crap", according to the documents. The ATP contends other senior players including Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Marat Safin and Tommy Haas did their interviews without incident.

Glynn Hewitt later that month again intervened in Lleyton's fight with the ATP, telling them in a letter Lleyton "would never accept any fine or finding that (he) had committed any violation of the rules".

Lleyton Hewitt took the defamation action alleging damage to his reputation based on media statements issued by the ATP after it fined Hewitt for missing the interview with the host network.

Hewitt appealed and had asked for the appeal panel to include former players Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe and Mats Wilander but the ATP instead appointed Czech player Jakob Hlasek and US doubles champion Richey Renenberg.

Hewitt had arranged to take part in the appeal hearing by telephone conference, according to the ATP, but did not do so, telling the panel through his counsel he was unavailable.

The case has not been listed but is expected to be first heard before a Supreme Court judge in the week after the US Open, which finishes on September 7.

 

[duck]

LL in the wars again:

Award winner Hewitt a no-show
By Bruce McDougall
August 18, 2003
YOUNG Australian of the Year Lleyton Hewitt has not attended a single official function since winning the honour seven months ago.







The tennis champion has received at least five invitations to attend Australian of the Year events. But the National Australia Day Council does not expect him to perform any duties for months yet.

It hopes Hewitt, 22, will attend a Starlight Foundation tennis competition at year's end.

The former world No. 1 spends most of the year competing internationally, but his unavailability has raised questions about the suitability of candidates who can't guarantee to attend community events.

Critics claim his non-appearance is not helping to promote the awards.

Last year tennis champion Pat Rafter made about 20 visits.

But the board of the National Australia Day Council has decided not to change the selection criteria: excellence, community service and being an inspirational role model.

Winners are expected to go to hospitals, charity events, conferences, meetings with political leaders and community events.

Australia Day Council director Warren Pearson said Hewitt's unavailability should not have ruled him out of selection. "Lleyton has been selected because of his tennis prowess," he said.

"I'm not sure that Lleyton going to a couple of activities, or to lots of activities, actually would inspire people as much as if he was winning."

Hewitt's manager in Australia, Rob Aivatoglou, said: "Lleyton has indicated his willingness to do something - it's just a matter of it being able to fit into his tennis schedule.

"We've indicated that come the end of the year hopefully . . . he'll be able to do a few things."

The tennis star became a global ambassador for the Special Olympics in 2002 and supports organisations including the Bone Growth Foundation and the Starlight Foundation.

Nominations for the 2004 awards close in two weeks.

 

[dagmar7]

Last year tennis champion Patrick Rafter was retired, of course, and had plenty of time to attend charity events...but why mention that?

Leave Lleyton alone, you jackals! :fiery: He has enough problems.

Grrrr...

 

[duck]

Go on the attack, Lleyton
By John Thirsk
20aug03
TENNIS legend John Newcombe says Lleyton Hewitt's game has become too predictable, cautious and defensive.

With the US Open starting at Flushing Meadows next week, Newcombe is concerned Australia's former world No. 1 has lost his natural attacking instinct and is playing not to lose rather than to win.

"I've noticed in the last 12 months . . . he has become too cautious with his game and his opponents know exactly what is coming at them," Newcombe said.

"And what is coming at them is not good enough."

Newcombe urged Hewitt to go back to basics and focus on his strengths.









"He has to turn it around; start to play to win rather than not to lose. He has to make a conscious decision to change all that around with the right guidance and self-belief . . . to get back on track again.

"It will be Lleyton's decision who he thinks will be the best to help him now."

Hewitt, 22, is in danger of slipping from his year-ending world No. 1 ranking out of the top 10 for the first time in five years.

The Australian will need a super charge in the Champions Race to qualify for the Masters Cup final in Houston in November.

He has won the tournament for the past two years in Sydney and Shanghai to hold the No. 1 position.

Newcombe does not consider Hewitt among the favourites to win in New York.

"I'd say Andy Roddick is favourite after winning three of his last four tournaments," he said.

Newcombe said there were tell-tale signs in Hewitt's game that his confidence was down.

"A lot of his shots are landing around half-court," he said.

"That immediately tells me he is playing not to lose rather than going for his shots.

"You can't stay right at the top of your game if you are not going for your shots and believing in the weapons you have. To me that is the adjustment Lleyton has to make."

Newcombe said the pressure over five years of playing three Davis Cup finals and holding the No. 1 spot had taken its toll.

But he said to write Hewitt off as a force would be a big mistake.

"Most of the guys he's playing with are a lot bigger, stronger and heavier," Newcombe said.

"But he's a tough little customer and believes in himself and he'll find the path back again.

"It's just a question of how long it takes him."

 

[duck]

Much of the same with more quotes:

Confidence crisis
By JOHN THIRSK
20aug03
TENNIS legend John Newcombe believes Lleyton Hewitt's game has become too predictable, cautious and defensive.

With the US Open starting at Flushing Meadows on Monday, Newcombe is concerned that Australia's former world No. 1 has lost his natural attacking instincts and is playing more not to lose rather than to win.

"I've noticed in the last 12 months that Lleyton has started playing not to lose," Newcombe said.

"He has become too cautious and his opponents know exactly what is coming at them. And what is coming at them is not good enough."

Newcombe has urged Hewitt to go back to basics with his game and to focus on his strengths.

"Lleyton has to go with his strengths and develop his own game," he said.

"He has to turn it around: start to play to win rather than not to lose.

"He has to make a conscious decision to change all that around with the right guidance and self-belief . . . to get back on track again.

"It will be LLeyton's decision who he thinks will be the best to help him now."

Hewitt, 22, is in danger of slipping from his year-ending world No. 1 ranking out of the top 10 for the first time in five years.

The Australian will need a super charge in the ATP Champions Race to qualify for the Tennis Masters Cup in Houston in November.

This is the tournament he won in consecutive years in Sydney and Shanghai to hold the end-of-year No. 1 position. Newcombe does not consider Hewitt among the favourites to win a second US Open.

"If you ask me halfway through the tournament, and he has played a couple of matches which I have seen and I think he is back to his best, I may change my opinion," Newcombe said. "But as we start the tournament he is not a favourite. I'd say Andy Roddick is favourite after winning three of his last four tournaments."

Newcombe said there were tell-tale signs in Hewitt's game that his confidence was down. "A lot of his shots are landing around half court," he said.

"That immediately tells me he is playing not to lose rather than going for his shots. You can't stay right at the top of your game if you are not going for your shots and believing in the weapons you have. To me that is the adjustment Lleyton has to make."

Newcombe feels the pressure over five years of playing three Davis Cup finals and possibly another this year, plus holding the No. 1 spot for successive years, has taken its toll.

"All that effort over the last five years is just starting to catch up with him a little bit," Newcombe said.

"The pressure of being No. 1 is there and it's been tough for him, especially at a young age. Most of the guys he's playing with are a lot bigger, stronger and heavier.

"But he's a tough little customer and believes in himself and he'll find the path back again."

 

[Lisbeth]

Thanks for the articles Duck - I appreciate all the effort you go to to bring us up to date Lleyton news!

 

[duck]

Pro-Ll propaganda. How bad!

Hewitt aims to silence critics at U.S. Open
By Stephen Wood

ANAHEIM, California (Reuters) - His critics suggest victory in a bitter legal battle with the ATP has become more important to troubled Lleyton Hewitt than success on the tennis court.

An extended run at the U.S. Open, therefore, would provide the Australian with a perfect riposte and a positive finale to a grand slam season which has been nothing short of miserable for the former world number one.

Hewitt filed a court case in June against the ATP, emanating from his row with the governing body over his refusal to give a media interview in 2002.

It is a messy situation which Hewitt will be confronted with time and again by media in New York, and it will be interesting to see how a player famed for his mental fortitude will cope.

The 22-year-old vehemently denies the affair is affecting his game but a poor run of results prove otherwise.

Even his demeanour on court -- a betrayal of the intense competitor many have come to love or hate -- has at times shown Hewitt in a different light.

A fourth round exit at the Australian Open in January ensured his ambition of winning in his home country remains unfulfilled, while he made it to just the third round of the French Open in May.

But it was a first round defeat to unheralded Croatian Ivo Karlovic at Wimbledon in June -- the earliest exit for a defending champion in the Open era -- which represented the nadir of Hewitt's year.

"I guess this loss will stay with me for a while," said Hewitt at the time. "I hope I can learn from it.

"You know, the big one for me now is the U.S. Open, the last grand slam of the year. Maybe this defeat will make me more hungry for that last grand slam. I'll have to wait and see."

EARLY EXITS

To add to the maelstrom around the south Australian, people are now calling for him to replace his coach Roger Rasheed -- who took on the job after Jason Stoltenberg quit in June citing personal reasons.

Aside from making the Los Angeles final on August 3, his early exits on the hardcourts of the Montreal and Cincinnati Masters events do not bode well.

"I'd probably like to have had more matches going in to the Open," Hewitt, the 2001 U.S. Open champion, said last week.

"But grand slams are different. If you can get through a few matches and the draw opens up and you get confident, then everyone knows (what can happen).

"Look at Pete Sampras last year, and even the two occasions I've won grand slams -- I've got better as the tournament has gone on."

Sampras won against all odds at Flushing Meadows 12 months ago, yet New York and the U.S. Open remain the most unforgiving of grand slam environments.

It will be a shame if one of the game's most interesting competitors is crushed by both.

 

[duck]

Tough Open draw for Scud

August 21, 2003
LLEYTON HEWITT and Mark Philippoussis have been handed contrasting draws for the US Open championship starting in New York next week.







Both players have received favourable first-round draws, with Hewitt opening up against lowly-ranked Romanian Victor Hanescu and Philippoussis to meet a qualifier.

But while Hewitt looks to have a trouble-free run through the first week, Philippoussis faces a tough time repeating his great run to the Wimbledon final.

Philippoussis, the 20th seed, might have to beat Russian Davis Cup hero Mikhail Youzhny, in-form Argentine David Nalbandian and Wimbledon champion Roger Federer just to make the quarter-finals.

Fellow Australians Scott Draper and Wayne Arthurs have tough draws, with Draper to take on second-seeded Federer first up and Arthurs to play seventh seed Carlos Moya.

In the women's event, Australian No.1 Alicia Molik has drawn a qualifier and Nicole Pratt meets American Jill Craybas.

 

[duck]

Hewitt helped by US Open draw


Pressure on Lleyton Hewitt eased a little when the struggling former world No.1 received a generous draw for the US Open starting in New York on Monday.

Unlike Davis Cup teammate Mark Philippoussis, Hewitt gets a golden opportunity to play himself into much-needed form before over the first week of the season's last grand slam.

In the first round sixth-seed Hewitt meets world No.84 Victor Hanescu, a 22-year-old from Romania who has played only 22 matches on the main tour and has done best on clay.

He could face Lee Hyung-taik or Vladimir Voltchkov in round two.

There is no "name" player in his path until Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan in the round of 16.





Srichaphan is the 11th seed and won a tour-best 40 matches on hard courts last year.

Third seed Juan Carlos Ferrero looms in the quarter-finals and should Hewitt advance to the semi-finals - as he has on his last three trips to Flushing Meadows - the 2001 champion would likely confront top seed and world No.1 Andre Agassi.

Other dangers in Hewitt's top half of the draw include unpredictable Russian Marat Safin, Sebastien Grosjean and two recent victors over the South Australian, Max Mirnyi and Wayne Ferreira.

Philippousis, the 20th seed and 1998 finalist, opens against a qualifier but has landed in an rugged section of the draw also featuring Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, hometown favourite James Blake and in-form Argentine David Nalbandian.

Philippoussis will probably play Russian Davis Cup hero Mikhail Youzhny in the second round and is on course to meet 13th-seeded Nalbandian in the third round before colliding with Federer in a mouth-watering Wimbledon final re-match.

Seventh seed Carlos Moya is Philippoussis' projected quarter-final opponent, with tournament favourite Andy Roddick, the fourth seed, expected to be lying in wait for the semi-finals.

Hewitt, normally at his best on the American hardcourts, has had a poor build-up for the Open.

He made a run to the final in LA month in his comeback event following a four-week layoff after his first-round elimination at Wimbledon.

But he has since lost to Mirnyi in the second round in Montreal and to Xavier Malisse in the second round in Cincinnati, consigning the two-time grand slam champion to the practice courts for a full fortnight before the Open gets underway.

Hewitt has tumbled from the top of the rankings prior to Wimbledon to world No.6 and his 13 tournaments contested this year are the second-fewest of any player in the top 50 in the ATP Champions Race.

But he insists his priorities for 2003 were the grand slams and Davis Cup.

While he has failed to progress beyond the fourth round at the first three majors, he has helped Australia reach a Davis Cup semi-final against Switzerland next month.

Fellow Australians Wayne Arthurs and Scott Draper have tough draws, with Arthurs opening against Australian Open runner-up Rainer Schuettler and Draper to play seventh seed Carlos Moya.

In the women's event, Australian No.1 Alicia Molik has drawn a qualifier and Nicole Pratt meets American Jill Craybas.

Molik has a great chance to reach her maiden grand slam quarter-final after being pitted in a section of the draw devoid of any of the game's current stars.

 

[duck]

ESPN- Malivai Washington:

Speaking of making a statement, Lleyton Hewitt has not made one all year on the court, though some of his off-court statements that he's made regarding the ATP are well-documented. If Hewitt doesn't win the Open, it'll be the first time since the Open 2000 that he went a season without winning a major.

Hewitt certainly must like his draw, starting out with Victor Hanescu and potentially playing Feliciana Lopez in the round of 16. For a player of Hewitt's caliber, who hasn't shown much on the court this year, this is the kind of draw that he would like going into his last major.

He's done a tremendous job the past two years finishing No. 1, but it's not going to happen this year. At the end of the year, maybe he'll really re-assess his game, his focus and decide that 100 percent of his energies have got to be focused around his game -- and not around his girlfriend's game or his lawsuit with the ATP. There has to be a single-minded focus for him to get back to the No. 1 spot.

It will be interesting to see how Wimbledon affected Mark Philippoussis. He showed that he's back from his knee surgeries and injuries. We'll see if he's truly sincere about working hard and keeping himself committed to the task.

Philippoussis reached the Open finals in 1998, so we know he can play on these courts. Can he put his big game together and follow up with another good major? Don't be surprised if over the next several months, he actually gets on a roll and is on the verge of finishing the year in the top 10 -- maybe the top 5.

 

[KaseyL]

Thanks Ruth for the posts!


re 'Malivai Washesaynton' : pfffff as if Kim is hampering him: just so not. Who knows he might be heading into a total depressed state if he wouldn't be with her. Where might he be without her love and support!

& again for that matter.


But so when it comes to the urgent need of hiring a real pro coach, and one who can have enough influence on him (and the parents, mind you) to install some renewed love for competing into Lleyton.